In contemporary culture, individuals and business establishments typically collect their trash in a garbage can or garbage basket that is lined with a plastic garbage bag. When the trash bags are full of trash, they are removed from the trash can and transported to a designated location to await pickup by a garbage disposal service. The garbage disposal service transports the garbage bags to a garbage disposal area, such as an incinerator or a garbage dump.
Garbage cans are typically located in a room where trash is generated, such as a kitchen, bathroom, or office. When the plastic garbage bag is full of garbage, the open top of the garbage bag can be tied shut in order to secure the garbage inside of the garbage bag. At the time of filing of this application, most garbage bags are provided with drawstrings that are threaded inside of a closed collar around the opening of the bag. Loops of the drawstrings protrude from the collar, and these loops can be tied together to secure the contents of the bag. If drawstrings are not provided, opposing edges of the bag can be tied to each other. To facilitate tying the edges of a bag together, some garbage bags are provided with extensions along the opening that can be tied to one another. An older method of securing garbage bag openings uses a twist-tie or a plastic locking strip to form a tight loop around the top of the garbage bag.
Once a filled garbage bag has been removed from the garbage can, it is necessary to bring the garbage bag to a trash disposal area for storage and eventual disposal. In some situations, the garbage bag is dropped into a large garbage bag holding container, where the bag is held until the next scheduled date of garbage pick up. Transportation of filled garbage bags is relatively simple for individuals who reside near the point of trash pickup. However, problems arise for individuals who reside far from the point of garbage pickup.
In apartment complexes, residents of the apartments are typically required to transport their garbage bags to a garbage dumpster for disposal. A dumpster is a large container that can hold a high volume of garbage and that is configured such that it can be readily emptied by a garbage truck. Once or twice a week, a garbage disposal service empties the garbage from the dumpsters and then transports the garbage to an off-site garbage disposal facility.
In large apartment complexes, the dumpsters may be located a significant distance from the apartments. Accordingly, residents of apartment complexes frequently use their individual vehicles to transport garbage bags from their apartment to the dumpster. A resident who owns a pickup truck can conveniently haul garbage bags in the bed of his or her truck. However, most residents own automobiles or sports utility vehicles (“SUV”). When hauling garbage bags with an automobile or SUV, the garbage bags must be transported either in the trunk, in the interior passenger compartment, or on top of the hood or roof of the vehicle. When trash bags are placed in the passenger compartment or trunk of a vehicle, there is a risk that trash or liquid will leak from the bag. Leakage may soil the vehicle or give the vehicle a foul odor.
When trash bags are placed on the hood or roof of a vehicle during transport, it is necessary to drive slowly and carefully so that the trash bags do not fall off of the vehicle. If a trash bag falls off of a vehicle, it will often split open when it strikes the ground, resulting in a mess or a dangerous condition (e.g. broken glass) that must be cleaned up. This problem occurs frequently in apartment complexes, where drivers often must navigate sharp turns and speed bumps on their route to the garbage dumpster. Some residents refuse to clean up their own messes, and this problem becomes more acute when a person is on a tight schedule at the time that they are transporting their garbage bags (e.g. heading to work or to a meeting).
Individuals who reside in rural areas experience similar problems when delivering garbage bags to a point of garbage collection. The point of garbage collection is typically the side of a public road. Such individuals often reside a quarter mile or more from the road, and may have to drive over bumps or through snow in order to reach the roadside, all of which can cause bags to fall over and soil the interior of a vehicle or fall off of a hood or roof.
There is thus a need for a device for use in hauling trash on a motor vehicle that has the following characteristics and advantages.